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The British Rowing Junior Championships returns to Strathclyde Park and with a few exciting changes from previous years. Kicking off early, the 13 Junior Men’s quad compete across 2 heats for a spot in the A final. This heat format is definitely an exciting change from the usual time trial we are used to and will certainly promote some close side-by-side action right off the bat. 13 crews from 12 clubs will descend on Strathclyde Park to become British Champions, entries from the likes of Windsor Boys, Hinksey and Great Marlow means that we are installed for some awesome racing.
Great Marlow School
One of the stronger-looking crews comes in the form of Great Marlow, picking up a win in the B final at the Marlow Regatta in a very respectable time. Looking back a little further to the National Schools’ Regatta this crew placed a very honourable 10th place just behind Trentham in the B final, once again showing that they are very much an experienced capable crew! These boys are surely targeting a podium finish which is very much on the cards for them.
Hinksey Sculling School
After a hugely impressive effort from Hinksey’s top quad making the final of the Fawley Challenge Cup, narrowly losing to Leander, one member of that quad is joined by members of their 2nd quad to create this boat. If anyone has the ability to challenge the likes of Windsor, it would be Hinksey. Although with this in mind, it would be a very tall order for them to overturn Windsor Boys’.
Nottinghamshire Country and Nottingham and Union
Nottinghamshire county and Nottingham and Union have joined forces to produce an impressive 2 crews for this years championship. Combining these two clubs will hopefully lead to a more competitive ‘A’ crew that can be mixing things right in the middle of the pack. With the ‘B’ crew I wouldn’t expect them to be at the sharp end of things but potentially targeting solid results in the B final. I would class both boats as underdogs, coming up against some bigger programmes however that does not mean anyone should right them off.
Windsor Boys’ School
The one crew that jumps out at you when looking through the entries is this Windsor Boys’ crew. Confidently favourites to claim the title for the second time in a row I can’t see a stronger-looking outfit than this. As with Hinksey, this crew has some returning members from its ‘A’ boat who have been pushing Leander throughout the whole of the summer season.
Predictions
I think it’s fairly safe to predict Windsor Boys’ for the win. However, those minor medals could go any number of ways. Great Marlow, and Hinksey are both very much in the mix, but don’t rule out the likes of Claires Court, Newark or even Tideway Scullers School! One thing for sure is that whoever gets them, they are going to have to earn it, it’s going to be one hell of a race!
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